Our common Ancestors looks like Apes

Man's last common ancestor with apes looked more ape than human, researchers have found.

A new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco shows that important clues lie in the shoulder. 

As early humans increasingly left forests and utilized tools, they took an evolutionary step away from apes, but what this last common ancestor with apes looked like has remained unclear until now.

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A new study led by researchers at UC San Francisco shows that important clues lie in the shoulder - and reveal our common ancestor looked a lot like a chimp or gorilla,.

HOW DIFFERENT ARE WE? 

Humans split from our closest African ape relatives in the genus Pan – including chimpanzees and bonobos – 6 to 7 million years ago. 

Yet certain human traits resemble the more distantly related orangutan or even monkeys. 

This combination of characteristics calls into question whether the last common ancestor of modern humans and African apes looked more like modern day chimps and gorillas or an ancient ape unlike any living group.

'Humans are unique in many ways,' said Nathan Young, of UC San Francisco School of Medicine and lead author of the study.

'We have features that clearly link us with African apes, but we also have features that appear more primitive, leading to uncertainty about what our common ancestor looked like.

'Our study suggests that the simplest explanation, that the ancestor looked a lot like a chimp or gorilla, is the right one, at least in the shoulder.'

It appears, he said, that shoulder shape tracks changes in early human behavior such as reduced climbing and increased tool use.  

Humans split from our closest African ape relatives in the genus Pan – including chimpanzees and bonobos – 6 to 7 million years ago.